A literary phenomenon in its New York home for many years now, The Moth’s fame is extending rapidly overseas, partly through the open mic StorySLAMs in approaching 20 international cities that it uses to gather stories. Making its second ever appearance at Edinburgh this month, the event promises ‘true stories told in front of a live audience’ and will this year celebrate the launch of its first printed anthology.

‘The Moth is about story and storytelling, and we strive to keep it in balance,’ says artistic director Catherine Burns. ‘There will always be the raconteur who can make a story about going to the corner shop to pick up milk riveting, and of course we love people like that, but our audience also loves hearing from people who may not be great performers, but who have an extraordinary story to tell. They want to hear from regular people.’

To this end The Moth also has its own dedicated phone pitchline, and those who have called it to tell of their experiences often end up on the stage. Hosted by Scots comedian and writer Lynn Ferguson, this event’s four-act bill is yet to be completed, although the hope is that one or two non-performers will be on it. ‘So far we have the writer and Wellcome prize-winner Andrew Solomon, and the British writer, actor and comedian Omid Djalili,’ says Burns. ‘Omid has told stories for us before here in the States, and is a great raconteur, while Andrew is also a Moth regular.’ But the names aren’t important here – just the story.

To celebrate the UK launch of their first book, which collects together 50 of their best stories, we invited The Moth, the legendary US storytelling organisation, to create a special one-off evening of stories inspired by our strand of events, Conversations with Ourselves. Join an eclectic cast of storytellers from around…